Media Releases

PMO Press Release: Appointments to the Supreme Court and the Singapore International Commercial Court

Singapore, 5 January 2015 - The President of the Republic of Singapore, acting in his discretion, and in concurrence with the advice of the Prime Minister will appoint two Judicial Commissioners and five Senior Judges to the Supreme Court Bench and 11 International Judges to the Singapore International Commercial Court, under Article 95(4) of the Constitution (amended on 4 November 2014). The Senior Judges and International Judges will be sworn in on 5 January 2015 at a ceremony to be held at the Istana, while the Judicial Commissioners will be sworn in at a date or dates to be determined later.

Judicial Commissioners

2 Mr Chua Lee Ming (蔡利民) and Mr Foo Chee Hock (符志福) will be appointed as Judicial Commissioners of the Supreme Court. Mr Chua will be appointed with effect from 1 February 2015 for a term of two years. Mr Foo, the current Registrar of the Supreme Court, will be appointed as a Judicial Commissioner on or before 1 April 2015 for a term of three years. Mr Foo will also concurrently oversee the development of the Singapore Judicial College under the auspices of the Supreme Court.

Senior Judges

3 Five former Judges of the Supreme Court will be appointed as Senior Judges of the Supreme Court for a period of three years with effect from 5 January 2015, where they will hear and determine such matters as the Chief Justice may specify. The newly-appointed Senior Judges are:

Mr Chan Sek Keong (陈锡强)

Mr Kan Ting Chiu (简庭照)

Mr Andrew Ang (翁安得烈)

Mr Tan Lee Meng (陈利明)

Ms Lai Siu Chiu (赖秀珠)

4 Mr Chan Sek Keong will sit as a Judge of Appeal and as a Judge of the Singapore International Commercial Court.

International Judges

5 11 individuals will be appointed as International Judges of the Singapore International Commercial Court for a period of three years with effect from 5 January 2015, where they will hear transnational commercial cases. The 11 newly-appointed International Judges are:

The Honourable Ms Carolyn Berger (United States of America)

The Honourable Justice Patricia Bergin (Australia)

The Honourable Mr Roger Giles (Australia)

The Honourable Dr Irmgard Griss (Austria)

The Honourable Justice Dominique T. Hascher (France)

The Honourable Mr Dyson Heydon AC QC (Australia)

The Honourable Sir Vivian Ramsey (United Kingdom)

Mr Anselmo Reyes (Hong Kong)

The Right Honourable Sir Bernard Rix (United Kingdom)

Professor Yasuhei Taniguchi (Japan)

Mr Simon Thorley QC (United Kingdom)

6 More information about the Judicial Commissioners, Senior Judges and International Judges are attached at Annexes A, B and C respectively.

7 With these appointments, the Supreme Court will have a total of 14 Judges (including the Chief Justice), nine Judicial Commissioners, five Senior Judges and 11 International Judges.